Beyond What You've Seen
by NarniaTolkienNerd
Summary: A collection of oneshots as a companion to East To West (Second Edition), the main story. If you want to see more of your favorite characters from both Middle Earth and Narnia within the greater story of East to West, read on! Oneshot timeframe and rating is noted in each entry. If you have a request don't be afraid to tell me via review!
1. Protect You

_/A.N./ Hello dear Readers! I'm still alive, and am slowly making progress on the upcoming chapters for East to West. More on that another time. I wanted to give you all a little something as an apology and because I had it written. _

_Susan and Peter oneshot. Takes place sometime after Aslan appears to Edmund and Lucy. _

_Rating: K_

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**PROTECT YOU**

A young queen swept through the marble halls, her scarlet skirts rippling around her legs. Her raven hair swayed with her determined stride, bouncing against her slender back and skirt. The faun standing at attention in front of large oak doors frantically pulled at its handles when he saw his queen had no intention of slowing down. The heavy doors swing open, silencing the conversations within the room.

Each Narnian creature bowed as the young woman passed. She hardly took notice, which was unlike the caring queen. Her eyes were fixed on a tall young man at the end of the room. He rose to his feet, his golden crown glinting as it caught the sunlight shining through all stained-glass windows.

"My dear sister, what-"

"I wish to have a word with you."

Her hands were hidden underneath long flowing sleeves, but she raised her right hand just enough for her brother to see. Her pale fingers were wrapped around a parchment.

Her hand trembled, the object she held shook slightly in her grasp. The king's brow furrowed with concern when he took immediately notice.

"This council meeting is adjourned until further notice," the young king boomed. The councilors bowed their heads and filed out of the room, the sound of hooves, paws, and feet blending together.

The moment she heard the wood doors close behind her, she let her mask fall away. Her legs trembled and her skirts suddenly felt incredibly heavy.

"Susan!" Her brother grabbed her upper arms before she could fall to the ground, His blue eyes analyzed her distressed state, as if he could decipher what was troubling her. "Tell me what's wrong. Susan?"

She leaned forwards, resting her forehead on his collar bone. She felt unstable, head spinning, legs weak beneath her. She needed to breathe, to calm herself.

"Peter," she said softly, allowing him to wrap his arms around her so she felt steady, "I received a letter from Edmund and Lucy."

"Good heavens Susan, what could they say to put you in such a state?" Peter parted himself from her so he could look her in the eye.

She breathed shakily. "I mustn't be this worried, I- oh just read the letter!"

Peter took the rolled paper she offered to him. His little brother's handwriting swirled across the paper. Edmund had clearly written the letter, but it became evident as he read it that Lucy had been heavily involved with its drafting.

"Aslan," he whispered, his lips still forming the words he read. He read the entire letter a second time, hoping the information would process through his stunned brain.

"Peter."

Susan looked up at him, her eyes searching for a response. He sighed and started to roll up the parchment, avoiding meeting her gaze.

"Say something," Susan whispered, clasping his hands in hers as panic settled over her mind. "Edmund and Lucy are already far out of our reach and walking into a brewing battle! This is hardly sane. What if something happens to them? What if they need our help? There is nothing we can do from here! They might die, and there is nothing-"

"You could stop talking!" Peter shouted. He could not think with her saying such things.

Anyone else would be intimidated by the warrior king. Behind his blue eyes were a storm. But Queen Susan was not just any woman. She pulled her hands away from him.

"So you will not do anything about this?" She asked, her body that had trembled with distress now shook with desperate anger. "Your majesty will simply brood silently but not dare to take any action. Simply say there is nothing we can do. A brave king indeed!"

"For goodness sake Susan, give me a moment to collect my thoughts! I am not as hasty as you." He turned away from her. "We are much too old to lace our conversations with insults like that."

"And Edmund and Lucy are too young to be riding off to war beyond our scope of protection," she retorted.

"We cannot protect them forever." Peter turned to face her bearing a mournful expression. "They are more mature for their ages than we were, even at the time our coronation. I hate to say it, but I think this time we will be forced to trust them completely, without the ties of our support."

Susan's defiant posture desolved. She squeezed her eyes shut, her red lips trying to form words she hardly wanted to say aloud.

"I… I do trust them," she said at last, "but I trusted father too. We said goodbye, and he went far out of my reach."

She raised her face to see Peter, who stood frozen a few steps away. Her blue eyes looked like pools of water from the Eastern Sea, close to overflowing and dripping down her pale cheeks.

"We never saw father again," she finished. A single tear slid down her face. "I cannot live if that happens again; if we lose them."

Peter said nothing. The emotions that played across his sister's face became mirrored in his own; and he remembered his promise, the promise he made to their mother all those years ago.

_I will keep them safe. I won't let anything happen to them._

He remembered the first blood he'd spilt, the fight that had earned him the title Wolfsbane. He was defending his sisters. He had stood between the wolf and the girls. Peter would brave worse in a heartbeat.

"Neither could I, Susan," Peter replied softly. "I hate being rendered incapable of protecting any of you, much less Edmund and Lucy."

Susan sighed softly, her arms crossing over each other in a subtle self-hug. "We have fought in battles, tasted adventure, and learned to rule a blessed kingdom. But we have always done it _together._ I hardly know if my heart is ready to accept that they're nearly grown up."

Peter chuckled. "I can assure you that you are not alone in that sentiment."

The queen took small steps forward. Peter sighed and pulled her into an embrace. Only when she felt vulnerable would she wish for physical contact. She felt more than simply vulnerable now.

"Don't worry Su," Peter whispered, "Aslan will protect them. And besides, our brother has grown to have a good head on his shoulders; not to mention our dear sister seems to know things we don't. They balance each other, and Runemane will make certain they make no rash decisions."

Susan only nodded. She needed to let go of her need to control, for better or for worse.

But she doubted she could let go of her worry for their safety while they were away.

All she could do was trust.

Trust her two siblings.

Trust Aslan.


	2. Saruman's Ponderings

_/A.N./ Set soon after the White Council meets the Narnians (after chapter 10)._

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Saruman kept to himself as he traveled with the military company of Narnians. He did not want to socialize with them or his companions, especially Radagast the Brown. Besides, he was Saruman the White, he had no need for small talk and niceties.

He would often watch the Lady Galadriel speak with the young queen or Radagast talking with the strange Marenkai girl.

He, however, would remain focused on their mission and not be carried away by novel foreigners. He found the air of joy that the creatures around him possessed to be irritating. This was a dire situation; how could one dare to be so relaxed? The old wizard still could not bring himself to trust the motives of the king and queen; or Aslan for that matter. Why that "king" would send two adolescents, practically children, to fight against the orc armies of Sauron was beyond him. Sacrifice was not an action that Saruman believed many were capable of, and it was certainly not on his list of possible reasons for Aslan to call his soldiers from their homeland to protect people half a world away.

In truth, Saruman could not care less what happened to the home of the dwarves of Erebor and the men of the Lake, and even the woodland Sindarin Elves. What he needed to prevent was Sauron gaining a firm foothold on Middle Earth. If Sauron took the Lonely Mountain as his own base, he could more easily search for the One Ring.

Saruman detested the idea that Sauron should find his Ring before he could procure it. After many years of studying the lore of the One Ring, Saruman was convinced that if he could find the item first, he could destroy Sauron himself once and for all.

Unknown to Saruman, Edmund often watched the wizard from the corner of his eye. He did not know the source of the solemn wizard's unease, but he ventured to guess it stemmed from lack of trust in the Narnians.

Edmund wondered if it would be best he approached Saruman to assure him of their good will and intent. He hoped it would do good, the elderly wizard almost seemed to look down his nose at his authority sometimes. Hopefully it would not lead to conflict of leadership.

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_/A.N./ This turned out shorter than I thought it would, but it was in my original draft and I didn't want to cut it out completely. I think the above is his root motive for searching out the One Ring during The Hobbit timeline, which grew into an obsession and eventually to evil. Because he was prideful first and foremost, thought no one could properly do the job and destroy Sauron except himself, then he was manipulated by Sauron via Palantir, then turned sides when he came to the conclusion he was ultimately be best person to rule everyone else._

_That ends my Saruman musings. Do you think I'm wrong about his character arc? Also, did you know that Sir Christopher Lee was the only LotR movie cast member to actually meet Tolkien himself? A little trivia for you._

_Thanks for reading,_

_N.T.N._


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